Trademark Properties V. A&E Television Networks

TLC vs A&E

Tonight, TLC and A&E are going head-to-head with A Home Run For Trademark and Flip This House – New Haven.

A Home Run For Trademark is a special; the first episode “The Real Deal” will be April 21 at 9e/8c. The show centers around the relocation of the Shoeless Joe house, while at the same time helping to renovate the life of a current baseball player. The show had a great storyline, and gave us all a taste of what to expect with the upcoming season of The Real Deal.

I’m watching the New Haven team on Flip This House, and noticed that A&E seems to have learned from the dismal performance last season. The show has a faster pace, new graphics, and the budgets seem more realistic. The new crew has a website that they continually pimped on the show – http://www.thanandpaul.com/. In the end they doubled their money on the project, along the way they had a broken water main and an injury.

armando is a douchebag (edit any way you’d like). the atlanta crew is watchable being that i grew up there and like to see shots of the city i once lived in. new haven crew – i just can’t watch. it makes me miss trademark that much more. fortunately for me, i found this website and my way back to trademark!

Richard and the gang always rock. I would never watch A&E because of their recasting of a show that Richard and his crew made (they casted with a bunch of morons) – Trademark is the original and still the king!

I had no clue of what was behind the change in venue for the show. It would be very difficult to find somebody that would not side with Richard in regards to the lawsuit. There must be a picture of Richard in the dictionary beside the word integrity ! I am a faithful viewer from Canada. Cheers and go get them!

I saw the new crew.. THAN&PAIL, and found them to be intertaining.. they are goofy, and fun.. I still like Trademarks crew.. but I am glad to see something on Flip This house besides Them Damn Peeps from San antonio… I could not stand them.

I watched Trademark at 9 and the New Haven flippers at midnight. I couldn’t stand the Texas gang because of their cheap “put lipstick on a pig” attitude, but it appears the new team have more integrity, wanting to make the house a place they’d be willing to live in. I’m looking forward to Trademark’s show!

Well, Thank God Trademark is back! I haven’t watched a single Flip since the first two episodes with the Montelongo gang – hate em, really hate em, and I’ve been waiting, not so patiently, for Richard and the gang to reappear on TLC. I’m looking forward to the new show – thanks for comin back!

Your friends up here in North Carolina are glad to see you guys back! … Really enjoyed the prelude to your new show!

However, if I may offer some suggestions for future productions …

1) The show seemed a bit more scripted than before … try to get back to the real/reality filming.

2) Language can be accepted in occasional real/reality situations that warrant such. However, used frequently & casually in a “script” fashion, exhibiting an attempt to show excitement, will get old to a percentage of your audience.

3) Where’s Kevin from the old shows??? I suggest you try to include him again, he added to the genuineness of the show.

You guys definitely have it going on and could easily blow away the competition … just stick to your roots! I will certianly be watching the upcoming upisodes in April!!

I too watched the new episode last night with Than and Paul and was also disappointed. Always wondering what happened to Tademark. Googled trademark and found this great site! I had no idea what was going on. I am a Greenville,SC native who also lived in Charleston for a time and still spends quite a bit of time there. So have LOVED the trademark eposodes the most. Not just because of the familiarity of the locations but because the quality was so much better. Only tolerated the Montelongos and the Atlanta people because it was still the same basic concept of the show.
After I found out the new show was on TLC stayed up till 1am watching the Home Run. LOVED IT and am so excited for the new season! Good luck with the law suit Richard. It will be really hard to watch A&E now. I wonder if they treat some of their other reality shows this way…

I have not watched anything on A&E since they started airing the Trailer Trash Teams with the exception of the Trademark reruns. I just can’t see how A&E could think they have anything good enough to put up against Trademark. Even A&E must have thought the same thing, since they kept running all the Trademark episodes.

I enjoyed the Trademark episodes the best, though the Montelongos and the Atlanta group are fun too, just not as much fun as Trademarks Properties. The new crew shown last night with the New Haven, CT team was boring. Not very interesting to watch. Sort of like everything neatly fell into place with a great finish, they sold the home for the asking price. Not for that home in that neighborhood. Too small a home for $120,000. And the New Haven crew were not interesting, espcially the woman. I hope, in addition to the new TLC show with Trademark, the Montelongos and the Atlanta group have new episodes.

Just one more thing, as much as I admire Richard C. Davis and the entire Trademark organization, the relationship between married Richard and single Ginger seems all a bit too cozy to me. I honestly wonder if there is anything brewing between the two? Wonder what Richard’s wife thinks of their relationship. I guess all business?

I just watched “A Home Run For Trademark” and can’t wait for my favorite flippers’ new show “The Real Deal”. I just hope the production is better on “Real Deal” than “Homerun”. The supers were too small to read, the editing was choppy and the audio was all over the place. Great content however. Let’s hope the series raises the production value a few notches.

Loved the show and can’t wait for more. My husband and I do not watch A&E’s show the other casts just are the same and have been waiting for Richard and the gang to come back. Welcome back and we have all missed you guys!!!!

I am very excited to see the new show. I watched a few minutes of the new season of flip this house and had to change the channel. Those “Than and Paul” guys seem like a bunch of amateur meat heads.

I have to say though, I was watching the Flip this House episode where Armando and his company purchase the five houses on the same block. I don’t have experience in real estate investment, but this seemed like such a bad investment. Why would anyone purchase houses in a bad part of town? isn’t location an important part of real estate investing?!

Re: “I have to say though, I was watching the Flip this House episode where Armando and his company purchase the five houses on the same block.”

I’ve seen that episode three times including twice last night. They sold back 2 of the 5 to the former renters. The other 3 renters they said “couldn’t” buy them. So they “couldn’t” get financing I suppose. Funny that they didn’t elaborate on that. I only caught the word “couldn’t” that last time I saw it. So the big charitable ‘to do’ was not so much

I watched the new show and really didnt like it ,its not the cast,the camera work wasnt very good,it in general wasnt very good, needs a lot of work ,the name isnt very original, why do we care about a junkie baseball player, ,we also dont care about baseball in greenville ,south carolina

I live in Greenville, SC and I don’t care about a junkie or minor league baseball in Greenville. I have been a big fan of the Team Trademark remodeling shows but this one was not anywhere up to the caliber of their previous shows. I was extremely disappointed in this show but remain upbeat that the subsequent shows will get back on track.

I can’t believe we missed the premiere show! We will be making sure tivo is set for future episodes, and I’ll check this site more often. Your Flip This House was our family favorite…even our 8 year old couldn’t stand the TX and GA teams! Your heart, integrity AND entertainment quality just couldn’t be matched. So glad to know that you are back. We told all our friends to watch before, and we’ll be sure to let them know about the new show. Good luck to you all!

I know that this page is about the show, however I can’t stop from posting my comments aftre reading some posting regarding comments made about a junkie baseball player. My first comment is that people who do not hear or see what they want,they turn negative and throw the bathwater with the baby. This segment to me was more about the compassion that Richard has for people. Very much like the house that he bought and reno-ed and let the previous owner rent the place. That previous owner as well had not drawn lucky cards that most middle class Americans and Canadians got in their hands. Living in a differentt country than the USA it would be easy for me to say that this is cultural difference, but it’s not. Intolerance exists everywhere.I for one does not think that this young man made a conscious decision to go where he went in addiction . I salute Richard for giving him an opportunity versus a hand out.There is room for people like Richard here in Canada.

Yves Dubeau:
The show had very little content about the renovation of the home. It primarily focused on the junkie baseball player who squandered away a $3.9 million signing bonus and made a conscious choice to throw his life down the toilet. The whole concept of “Flip this house” was to focus on the renovation of homes and the problems that the flipper would encounter: Not social programs.
Canadians can view it anyway that they wish. I just laid out the reality of what made this show a hit when it was on A&E. If they don’t focus on what made them popular, they will quickly lose their audience.

I watched the trademark show and was excited to see them back. I always liked them better than the Montelongos.
I also watched the A&E new team in New Haven with Paul and Than. I really enjoyed this crew and finally a crew that doesn’t fight with their contractors! They are young, but it seemed like they know what they are doing. Seem to really care about their business. Really impressed and will be watching both! Not the montelongos though…

Re: “I know that this page is about the show, however I can’t stop from posting my comments aftre reading some posting regarding comments made about a junkie baseball player. My first comment is that people who do not hear or see what they want,they turn negative and throw the bathwater with the baby.”

I just saw Josh Hamilton’s first major league at bat, ever, about 10 minutes ago! It was an out but he got a standing ovation. His team, the Cincinati Reds, beat the Cubs. That guy is going places!

Kinda thought Richard threw that bricklayer lady under the bus behind her back on this one. I’m at a loss to understand why any contractor would want to be showcased on this show (or his previous “flip this house” show). It seems like he jumps at the chance to bad mouth them when they are not on camera and then he hugs them in the end… go figure.. i guess a lot of people don’t mind being made fools of as long as they are on tv…

Re: “Kinda thought Richard threw that bricklayer lady under the bus behind her back on this one. I’m at a loss to understand why any contractor would want to be showcased on this show (or his previous “flip this house” show). It seems like he jumps at the chance to bad mouth them when they are not on camera and then he hugs them in the end”

Couple of things. Richard said on the show that anyone who thinks speed compromises quality doesn’t need to be on his job site, he kept her in spite of that. Number two, he’s said in the past not to take things personally ; )

I agree with what others were saying about being disappointed in the “Homerun” show (choppy, etc.). I also didn’t like that it was more a show about baseball than flipping; however, that’s what it was billed as. The “flipping” (Real Deal) episodes don’t start until later this month. As one poster said, I hope the production quality is better than this past special. My other wishes: that the special had been more about Shoeless Joe and less about Josh Hamilton; that the principal players don’t move too much beyond their roots (I liked it that Ginger’s hair wasn’t always perfect, etc., and now if she’s “coiffed” every episode it’ll be more Hollywood; less real); that they bring back the players from when it was on A&E (Steve, etc.). I’m not sure why I think this way, but thinking of Richard as a good ole’ boy, hard working flipper was part of the show’s appeal for me. Seeing him now 9since the Homerun special) as a real estate “mogul” who can call up a helicopter at any time and who buys a baseball team takes away part of the show’s appeal for me. What would be fun about watching Donald Trump flip a house? I was motivated by watching a guy so focused as Richard and his crew, then watch how they went to hometown football games…he seemed more real.

I agree that the only thing I didn’t like about the special was that it was a little two polished. But since it was filmed over a year ago (when they were probably still in limbo), I’m thinking it was filmed more for a documentary feel.

It would be nice to see the more quirky Ginger back. She’s trying to act and dress more refined and it seems to add to a scripted feel that we so well avoided during the first season.

Richard’s compassion for the baseball player (who happened to be a local hero to boot) is no different than the compassion he showed on Gus, who (it was noted in the Gus episode) that his house was full of beer can. Perhaps Gus spent too much time drinking and not enough time working and that contributed to him losing his house.

Richard gives people a second chance. Who among us hasn’t had a second chance at something, even if it is just getting a warming from a cop or a second chance at a job we were not doing well at?

While I’m defending Richard, he never has hid the wealth of the company. The very first shot of every show had him getting into the company helicopter and he used it to fly up to see the expensive house they renovated (the one that had the symphony fundraiser at the end). It was never hidden that Trademak is a good sized company with offices and agents around the state. BTW, a helicopter like that only runs about $120,000… well within the reach of a company the size of his. The Clemson episode also showed him paying $100,000 for his box at Clemson Staduim.

What is more real about going to a high school football game than owning a company? Once you achieve a certain level of wealth, you don’t go to local community events?

Finally, I’d be wary of anyone who didn’t fight with their contractors. Are you kidding me? Contractors are infamous for getting some of your cash in hand then vanishing for days on end, not getting the job done right or on time. I’d be wary of doing business with anyone who was too nice, too often to contractors.

I don’t know the Trademark Crew. May never meet them. But I am a very successful business owner and have watched each Trademark episode 4-5 times easy (Tivo’d them all to DVD). The entertainment value is great, but the business value even better. Portions could be used in business school.

I’m looking forward to the “second” season and hoping that Real Deal picks up where the Trademark Flip left off.

I think a lot of people are missing the fact that the “Homerun” show was meant to be an hour special to introduce and re-introduce Trademark Properties well before their new series “The Real Deal” begins on April 21. The “Homerun” special was not an episode of “The Real Deal”.

Whaaa Hooo! Team Trademark is back! My mother in-law and I have been trying to figure out what happened. Those yahoos in Atlanta and Texas are shameful. The Atlanta people are too painful to watch. The Texas chicks are just worried about posing and trying to look “pretty”. I have said that I would rather watch reruns of the first season of Flip This House than watch those people from Atlanta and Texas. I am so psyched there is a new show on. Richard and gang, welcome back. You have been missed.

Richard,
I was so impressed and touched by you new show. Once again you were looking out for others and not yourself. your company is truley one in a million!!!! I grew up in Mass. and to seee you buy a team in Brockton was amazing. I am a diehard orioles fan though. You should be so proud of what you’ve become and what you are teaching your children.A & E is the loser in this, not you. I love to see you and what you are going to pull off next. I know you will have great success in your new venture. Best to you all.
Nancy

Richard is a stand up guy with excellent morals and I think it would be hard not to like him. He’s a real guy doing real things! It was nice to see him with his boys, it showed his fatherly side. I have no doubt he will get a major league baseball team!

“The show had very little content about the renovation of the home. It primarily focused on the junkie baseball player who squandered away a $3.9 million signing bonus and made a conscious choice to throw his life down the toilet. The whole concept of “Flip this house” was to focus on the renovation of homes and the problems that the flipper would encounter: Not social programs” Yo Jack Wilson you’re a freakin’ idiot! This was a one time special episode that had nothing to do with Flip this/that or anyone’s house. IT WAS A SPECIAL!!!

I am now living in Greenville…living just minutes away from where “Homerun” was being filmed. Being a huge baseball fan myself I loved it and wondering if there is any way to get a copy of it or at the very least find out when/if it is re-airing?

My wife and I loved your version of Flip This House. We caught you guys in reruns over this past December and we became obsessed with YOUR GROUP. We never understood how the show worked (why there were different teams every season) but now that I found this website, it all make sense.

As a writer (and sometime producer) I completely sympathize with your plight. Take heart in the fact that what you and your crew had on camera was organic and original. A&E can try to replicate Trademark’s magic with a gimmick, a formula and a focus-group created cast, but in the end, it’s a failed attempt to capitalize on something that cannot be duplicated.

Sorry we missed your special on March 31st, but we will be there, Tivo at the ready for you guys on April 21. We wish you guys continued success. Many Cheers.

It was great to see the Trademark team back. I have been waiting since January for their new show. I agree that in order to stay “near and dear” to their fans, they need to keep it more the way it was and don’t get too “hollywood” or they will lose their appeal. Hope some of the Trademark team monitors this site. Because I really want them to succeed.

John Leslie mentioned that $120,000 was way to much for the house in New Haven. That’s a steal. A $150,000 dollar house in the bread basket of America is almost 1 million in the richer areas of Connecticut.

Knowing that neighborhood it will most likely be bought by an investor and rented out to a low income family. Sad but true. Yale University is a major employer in New Haven and only gives raise when the unions strike around every 10 years. Another sad but true. They even stopped hiring professors as full timers.

Team Trademark-
Thank God you’re here!!!! Let’s just call it “Flip That Channel” A&E must assume the stupid public will watch whatever they put on the air. Well we showed them. The general opinion is that the employees of Trademark MADE that show enjoyable. Please don’t let high paid TV exec.’s make you jump through hoops & make the new show have a ‘message’. They always pull that crap. Remember how good Extreme Makeover/ Home edition was before they started focusing on the family’s affliction? That’s my point. Also, no group of Yankees could ever out do Southerners!! We’re personality plus. That’s why Southerners don’t retire & move up North!! Don’t forget to add edited out clips at the end of each show. That would be great!!! And maybe film ya’ll watching the premier episode together, for a later show. We want to see your real life. Congrats & I’ll be watching in Texas!

Love Team Trademark!!! In future shows, I would love for you to show your families. We are all interested in knowing about your personal life as that makes viewers feel more like we are friends with you and watching our friends on TV is fun. Keep up the good work. Good luck to all of you. You are first class!

Love Trademark and love the new show. However, I have a question regarding the Monetlongos. On the “rancho Monteglongo” episode (or whatever it was called)- A&E briefly showed the “for sale/sold” sign in front of the house they were moving from and Veronica definately was NOT the listing agent. Supposedly she is such a great agent- why wouldn’t they want to save 3% (or more)? Just wondering…..

I did some research on the last “flip” by the San Antonio crew. The episode is called “Cat House”. The property is now owned by (according to county tax records) by “Lone Shadow Land Trust”. The address of this “trust” is the same as the Montelongo’s office in San Antonio.

This means that the house must not have sold and A&E is a fraud to not disclose this.

Ginger and Richard definately had a thang going on. Why else would he let anyone trapes around in 4-inch heels on a job site, unless he wasn’t rooming with her back at the hotel? Who would put up with that attitude, unless something wasn’t happening?

It looks like there’s a $500 discrepancy in my math, what I wrote down, OR what was super imposed on the screen as far as total ‘in’. In any event, it looks like the house still hasn’t sold. Meanwhile, interest and insurance costs continue to mount. Also, I’m unable to verify the ‘paid’ amount either but I suppose it seems reasonable at $80,000.

Before I forget, there was a scene where they put ‘ALCOA’ aluminum siding (prominently displayed) on the house.

They then superimposed on the screen… ‘Cost $12,000, Added value $25,000’. I totally get ‘product placement’ but that’s complete bullsh*t and over the line in my opinion. And again, my observation and just my opinion

“DALTON, Ga., June 21 /PRNewswire/ — Edge Flooring (“Edge”) is pleased to announce that Edge GTL will be featured in an upcoming episode of the popular A&E show, Flip This House. Tune in Saturday, June 23rd at 9:00 PM EDT, to see the story unfold as CT Homes encounters a plumbing problem that pushes them past their completion deadline. To make up time, the developers find an installation time saver in Edge Flooring, while shopping at their local flooring retailer”

The new show in New Haven is all entertainment with bad acting on over-scripted dialogues. Why can’t they just do the show realistically? It seems the emphasis is now too much on entertainment. I won’t be watching A&E anymore.

I LOVE THE REAL DEAL, but what I would love to see even more of are more episodes. I find the gang at Trademark to be really great and my kind of people. I think I have now seen every episode 3 times by now.

In regards to A&E and Flip This House, I do not like how they misrepresent the bottom line, especially on those CA homes. They make newbies to real estate rehabbing think that the deed and budget is all there is. Buy at $300,000 add $50,000 to rehab then they get some fancy realtor to waltz in and say you can easily get $600,000 for a profit of $250,000 and then the show ends. What they need to do is continue to show the estimate of closing costs, realtor fees and transfer fees. A&E leaves you with the feeling that “wow that is all I have to do and I will make all this money”! Kudos to A&E for doing REVISITS on some of their prior shows, but I think if the costs can be estimated or taken from the actual close by the time a real estate show airs then it is that show’s responsibility to disclose the true NET PROFIT and not the ESTIMATED GROSS PROFIT. Wouldn’t life be grand if we all walked away with the estimated gross profit!!

The Trademark Properties gang ARE the Real Deal. Their shows just blow away any of the “competition.” I love the way they interact, and the shows have a “real feel” to them, unlike the overscripted news shows on A&E. Continue to keep it real, guys, we love it.

I watch both shows and enjoy both A&E and TLC. I actually heard Than Merril and Paul Esjian speak at a seminar a month ago and they were excellent speakers. Very knowledgable actually even though the show is more about entertainment.

I live in Plantation, FL and listen to 610wiod.com, A conservative talk station and Armando has an add on during the afternoon trying to sell you his secrets. He claims to have fliped 30 houses every month nation wide, yeah ok..

I CAN’T BELIEVE THE DISREGARD FOR CT HOMES ON THIS SITE. GRANTED IT HAS BEEN 2 MONTHS OR SO SINCE THE LAST COMMENT BUT SINCE THEN THEY HAVE PROVEN THEM SELVES NOT ONLY TO THE CONNECTICUT POPULATION/VIEWERS BUT THE TRI-STATE AREA THE SAME. MYSELF INCLUDED A NEW JERSIAN WHO ATTENDED PAUL ESAJIAN’S WORKSHOP FEBRUARY 2008. BECAUSE OF HIM, I CANNOT WAIT TO IMPLEMENT THE LESSON HE TAUGHT ME AND PUT MY KNOWLEDGE, SYSTEMS AND ACTION TO WORK. NOT ONLY IS HE SEXY, HOT, CONFIDENT, AND SMART AND KNOWS WHAT HE DOES IS RIGHT ACCORDING TO THE SYSTEMS HE WORKS IN CONJUCTION WITH MARKETING, I WILL MAKE MONEY AND SUCCEED AND SHOW HIM SO AT HIS BOOT CAMP IN MAY 2008 AND ANY ONE WHO DARES TO CHALLENGE THAT , PLEASE SIGN UP… “WHITE PICKET FENCE HOMES….WE LOVE TO REHAB AND MAKE COMMUNITIES STRONGER….

Let’s get real about these shows. The money they pretend to pay these contractors is not even close to the truth. We have a small kitchen and breakfast room, we want to have new floors put down and new cabinets and new counters. We have been quoted $20,000 and $24,000 without new appliances. Some of the shows I have seen have people doing kitchens larger than ours and with appliances. Give me a break

YOU PEOPLE ARE PRETTY FUCKING STUPID. THIS SHOW, AS WITH ALL THE OTHER “SO CALLED” “FLIP” SHOWS ON HGTV, DYI, FYI, ETC., ARE ALL FAKE, FAKE, FAKE!! THEY ARE NOT FLIPPING ANYTHING. THIS IS A LIE. THESE HOMES BELONG TO SOMEONE AND THEY ARE EITHER FIXING IT UP TO SELL OR RENT, OR FIXING IT UP SO THE OWNERS CAN LIVE IN IT. THEY ARE NOT FLIPPING THEM FOR A PROFIT, THAT IS TOTAL AND COMPLETE BULLSHIT!!!!

YEAH, THESE GUYS WERE ABSOLUTELY FLIPPING THESE HOMES AND MAKING A GREAT PROFIT AND IT’S NOT FAKE AT ALL. THEY WERE ABLE TO DO WHAT NO ONE ELSE COULD WHEN THE ECONOMY, JOB MARKET, BUSINESSES, REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY COLLAPSED, WITH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE UNABLE TO SELL OR BUY AND LOSING THEIR HOMES TO EVICTION. BUT NOT THESE GUYS. OH NO, THEY WERE ABLE TO TO DO WHAT NO ONE ELSE HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO AND SELL THESE HOMES. LOL. EXACTLY WHOM ARE THEY SELLING THESE HOME TO ANYWAY? NOTICE THEY DON’T GIVE OUT THE ADDRESSES OR TELL ANYONE WHERE EXACTLY THESE HOMES ARE, WHO THE REAL OWNERS ARE AT THE COUNTY RECORDERS OFFICE, OR TELL WHO THE NEW OWNERS ARE WHO SUPPOSEDLY BUY THESE FLIPPED HOMES?

YEAH, THEY NEGLECT TO MENTION ANY OF THESE DETAILS BECAUSE IT’S ALL SO REAL, GENUINE, LEGIT, AND ON THE UP AND UP, HUH? LOL.